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Does U.S. Intervention Overseas Breed Terrorism? The Historical Record

According to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, terrorism is
the most important threat the United States and the world face as
the 21st century begins. High-level U.S. officials have
acknowledged that terrorists are now more likely to be able to
obtain and use nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons than ever
before.

Yet most attention has been focused on combating terrorism by
deterring and disrupting it beforehand and retaliating against it
after the fact. Less attention has been paid to what motivates
terrorists to launch attacks. According to the Pentagon’s Defense
Science Board, a strong correlation exists between U.S. involvement
in international situations and an increase in terrorist attacks
against the United States. President Clinton has also acknowledged
that link. The board, however, has provided no empirical data to
support its conclusion. This paper fills that gap by citing many
examples of terrorist attacks on the United States in retaliation
for U.S. intervention overseas. The numerous incidents cataloged
suggest that the United States could reduce the chances of such
devastating—and potentially catastrophic—terrorist attacks by
adopting a policy of military restraint overseas.